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Mongolia Project

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https://hdl.handle.net/10217/195523
These digital collections include conference proceedings and datasets from the Mongolia Project.

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Browsing Mongolia Project by Author "Allegretti, Arren Mendezona, author"

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    Participatory mapping and herders' local knowledge on Mongolia's landscapes and socio-ecological boundaries
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Allegretti, Arren Mendezona, author; Laituri, Melinda, author; Batjav, Batbuyan, author; Baival, Batkhishig, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisher
    Socio-ecological boundaries delineate landscapes containing natural resources that are differentially accessed and managed by stakeholders. These boundaries may be human-demarcated and biophysical serving as tangible and intangible features delineating landscapes. Our purpose is to explore Mongolian herders' perceptions of their pasture and boundaries through participatory mapping processes. Our research questions include: 1) what boundaries are depicted on herders' participatory maps? and 2) how are boundaries discussed through herders' participatory mapping narratives? We conducted participatory mapping and informal interviews (n= 35) with herder groups and district officials in Arkhangai, Tuv, Dornod, and Dornogovi. We qualitatively coded participatory mapping narratives and applied visual grounded theory. Tangible features on participatory maps included economic, hydroclimatic, geomorphological, and ecological boundaries portrayed as springs, landforms, vegetation types, seasonal camps, wells, and roads. Non-physical intangible boundaries such as governance arrangements were evident in participatory mapping narratives and served as human demarcated boundaries for accessing seasonal camps, markets, government assistance, and resources for herder migration. The relationships among herder mobility, governance boundaries, and biophysical pasture boundaries are coupled and dynamic, resulting in multi-dimensional outcomes of herder livelihoods.
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    ItemOpen Access
    The MOR2 database: building integrated datasets for social-ecological analysis across cultures and disciplines
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Laituri, Melinda J., author; Linn, Sophia, author; Fassnacht, Steven R., author; Venable, Niah, author; Jamiyansharav, Khishigbayar, author; Ulambayar, Tungalag, author; Allegretti, Arren Mendezona, author; Reid, Robin, author; Fernandez-Gimenez, Maria, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisher
    This paper describes the construction of a complex database for social-ecological analysis in Mongolia. As a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human (CNH) Systems, the Mongolian Rangelands and Resilience (MOR2) project focused on the vulnerability of Mongolian pastoral systems to climate change and adaptive capacity. To study this phenomenon, our team is made up of a group of hydrologists, social scientists, geographers, and ecologists collecting data across the Mongolian landscape over three years. This dataset is unique in that it captures multiple types of field data: ecological, hydrological and social science surveys; remotely-sensed data, participatory mapping, local documents, and scholarly literature. We describe the content, structure, and organization of the database and explain the development of data protocols and issues related to access and sharing. Descriptions of data analysis are included to demonstrate the utility of the database as well as its limitations. We conclude with a description of the challenges in creating a cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary database and lessons learned.